Welcome to the KŌKĀ Series

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A tribute to the women who raised me.

When I was 14 years old, my world broke apart.
My mum passed away—my pillar, my shelter, the light of my heart.

But in the depths of grief, something else rose.
Not just survival… but love.

The woman you see in the KŌKĀ Series is my kuia (grandmother).
She raised me after my māmā (mother) passed.
She guided me, nurtured me, and held me in the silence where words failed.

Sitting next to her in the photo is my Auntie Glenis, another wahine (woman) who cared for me like a daughter.
But it wasn’t just her.
There were countless whaea kēkē (aunties), kuia (elder women), and mana wāhine (powerful women) in my life.
Women who cooked for me, taught me, clothed me, healed me.

I wasn’t raised by one woman. I was raised by a sacred circle of love.
A very small community, where every wāhine played a role in holding me up.

I remember going to the marae (tribal meeting ground) as a young girl.
A kuia (elder woman) had just finished making floaters (traditional food)—her hands still warm from the mahi (work).

She reached for my hands, cupped my face, looked into my soul and said:
“I know who you are. I love you.”

That was the first moment in my life I felt deeply, unconditionally loved.
Not for what I did—but simply for being.

That moment carried me.
Through the grief, through the teenage years without a mum,
Through life’s hardest lessons.

And that aroha (love), that deep ancestral embrace, never left.
It became the thread that wove me together when I felt like I was falling apart.

Years later, after walking my own path of healing and growth,
I created Wai Ora Leadership—a sacred space for wāhine to remember who they are,
To rise with purpose, and to lead with whakapapa (ancestral lineage) and wairua (spirit).

And from that work, the KŌKĀ Series was born.

This isn’t just a project.
It’s a tribute.

To my māmā.
To my kuia.
To Auntie Glenis.
To all the wāhine who held me in their arms, their kitchens, their karakia (prayers).

To the women who are still with me.
And to those who now walk beside me in spirit.

The KŌKĀ Series: Voices of the Matriarch is for them.
It’s for all of us.
A living legacy, woven from grief, love, and the unbreakable strength of mana wāhine.